How Black Hawk Helicopters Help Hurricane Relief Efforts

The National Guard’s Use of Black Hawk Helicopters

The National Guard is a branch of the U.S. armed forces but is unique in that it can perform both state and federal functions. Functions for the state most often include state-level emergencies such as natural disasters such as fires, floods, and hurricanes.

One of the key assets of the National Guard is the military’s most versatile helicopter, the UH-60 Black Hawk. While aspects of the Black Hawk helicopter vary slightly from model to model, primarily they are designed to house a crew of three along with eleven fully equipped combat troops, plus they can hold an external cargo weight of 8,000 pounds. The Black Hawk can also be converted to accommodate four full-sized medical litters, or stretchers.

Hurricane Relief Efforts Using Black Hawk Helicopters

For hurricane relief efforts, Black Hawk helicopters serve a variety of duties including search and rescue, medical evacuations, and transferring supplies. These abilities have been put to use in countless life-saving missions to areas ravaged by hurricanes and other natural disasters.

Hurricane Isaac

After Hurricane Isaac flooded the water treatment plant in Port Sulphur, Louisiana, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was tasked with a crucial transport mission. Since a truck could not reach the water treatment plant due to the flooding, the Black Hawk helicopter transported a 5,000-pound generator to the plant to restore power and give locals fresh water. Additionally, a Black Hawk helicopter can transfer 600 gallons of water in an external bucket.

Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria

In September of 2017, when two powerful hurricanes consecutively devastated the Caribbean, multiple U.S. states deployed the National Guard and Black Hawk helicopters to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to aid in relief. Their humanitarian efforts provided aerial medical evacuation and search and rescue missions that made an impact.

Hurricane Florence

The National Guard from thirteen states rushed to the aid of North Carolina when Hurricane Florence battered the Carolina coast in 2018. The Black Hawk helicopters and additional aviation support tripled the North Carolina National Guard’s abilities to aid and rescue locals. With this additional help, they were able to fly more than 346 missions, rescue over 500 people and 150 pets and animals, and transport more than 685,000 pounds of supplies and equipment to those devastated by the hurricane.

Our Work with Black Hawk Helicopters and More

Because Black Hawk helicopters are an integral part of state and federal functions, we are dedicated to ensuring aerospace companies have access to top-quality services and parts for their Black Hawk helicopters or any of their aviation needs. These services and parts include:

• Black Hawk kitting
• Black Hawk spare parts
• Hot forming titanium
• Aircraft assemblies
• Engineering
• Aerospace hydroforming
• Thermoplastic composites
• Complex machining

In addition to working with Black Hawk helicopters, we also provide for a variety of industries, supplying the key aerospace products and services they need.